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Accountability court indicts Nawaz Sharif in 3rd reference

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif looks on during a joint news conference with Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, following their meeting in Ankara,Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. Sharif, in Turkey on an official visit, will have meetings with the Turkish leadership. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

ISLAMABAD : Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been indicted in the Flagship Investment Ltd reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

During the proceedings, the court declared former prime minsiter‘s sons Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz as absconders in a reference regarding a dozen offshore companies in United Kingdom (UK) and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The representative of Nawaz Sharif, Zaafir Khan, denied all allegations.

The charges state that the former premier remained chairman of FZE Capital from 2007-14. Nawaz was disqualified by the Supreme Court over his association with the foreign company.

The hearing was then adjourned until October 26, when the court will take up all three references against Nawaz and his family.

It may be noted that the court is conducting the hearing of three references filed by NAB in light of the Supreme Court directions in the July 28Panama Papers case judgment.

Earlier on Thursday, accountability court indicted ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar in the NAB’s Avenfield reference against them while the ex-PM was also charged in Azizia Steel Mills reference afterwards.

The accused pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges and termed them as groundless, baseless and unfounded. The lawyer further said that the charges were being framed on a report that is incomplete and controversial.

The NAB has in total filed three references against the Sharif family and one against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the accountability court, in light of the Supreme Court’s orders in the Panama Papers case verdict of July 28.

The anti-graft body was given six weeks, from the date of the apex court’s order, to file the reference in an accountability court while the accountability court was granted six months to wrap up the proceedings.

The references against the Sharif family pertain to the Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metals Establishment, their London properties and over dozen offshore companies owned by the family.

Maryam and Safdar are only nominated in the London properties reference. At an earlier hearing, the court also approved Maryam and Safdar’s bail in the Avenfiled properties case and ordered them to submit surety bonds worth Rs5 million each.

Safdar was also directed to take the court’s permission before leaving the country from now on. The judge also provided a copy of the reference — spread over 53 volumes — to Maryam and Safdar.